Floods in Australia: third most expensive disaster for local insurers

The Insurance Council of Australia has reported that the floods which hit the states of New South Wales and Queensland from 23 February to 8 March 2022 have led to 4.8 billion USD of insured losses.

This is the third most expensive disaster in the history of Australian insurance after Cyclone Tracy in 1974 and the Sydney hailstorm in 1999.

In June 2022, insurance companies received nearly 225 000 claims, an increase of 3.6% over one month.

Climate risk insurance rates increased by 12% due to rising costs of building materials and labor.